Nice Until Proven Naughty

Time to put my plan into motion and get my flirt on.

I saunter over—slowly because I don’t want to break an ankle—and stop in front of him.

He sucks in a breath when I place my hands on his chest, brushing them over the soft material of his shirt. “I love this shirt. It’s my favorite.”

“I kn—I mean, it is? I had no idea.”

I nod with a cheeky smile. “It is. I love the way it looks on you.”

Crystal and Scott snicker behind us, but I do my best to tune them out.

“I was just telling these two knuckleheads that I’m ready…” I trail off, wagging my eyebrows up and down, hoping he’ll catch my drift.

“For what?”

Crap, I must suck at this if he doesn’t know what I’m hinting at. Time to lay it on the line. “For love.” There. Can’t get much more blunt than that.

“You are?”

“I am. In fact, I’ve got big plans for after the Christmas party.”

“You do?” He frowns and glances to Scott and Crystal.

“Mmm-hmm.” I spin around and shoot Scott and Crystal a wink. She gives me a thumbs up, and he rolls his eyes before I whirl back around. “We better get things ready before everyone gets here.”

The sooner we get this party started, the sooner it’ll be over, and I can give Ben his present and hopefully get mine in return.

Him.

8

Ben

“She’s ready for love?” I ask as soon as Dani struts off into the kitchen.

And when I say struts, I mean that girl struts—ass swaying from side to side and long, smooth legs on full display. “And what the hell is she wearing?”

“It’s called a dress.” Crystal walks by and pats my shoulder. “Hang in there, boss. I have a feeling this is all going to work out.”

How the heck is it going to work out if the girl I love is dressed like that and looking for love?

She’s trying to kill me.

I’m about to turn around and find out what the hell is going on when the front door flies open and Ethan, along with the rest of the crew, walks in.

“Let’s get this party started,” Ethan hollers.

Brooke, Faye, Amelia, and Drew hoot and cheer behind him. They all bounce between serving and bartending, and I’m sure they’re ready to enjoy a night off.

Every year Dani and I have a big dinner for everyone on our staff. We all hang out, play pool and darts, laugh and drink. It’s one of my favorite nights of the year, mostly because we get to enjoy each other without all the busy work, but also because at the end of the night I get to spend a few hours alone with Dani.

After everyone trickles out, she and I always stay back to clean up. I swear we have more fun just the two of us in those few hours than we do during the whole rest of the party.

Somewhere along the way I foolishly started to convince myself our friendship was moving in a different direction.

I was wrong, and now—

“You okay?” Ethan nudges me in the arm.